African Fintech Cleva Startup Raises USD 1.5 M Pre-Seed Round

Nigerian fintech Cleva, focused on creating a banking platform for African individuals and businesses to receive international payments by opening USD accounts, has raised USD 1.5 M in pre-seed funding. The round was led by 1984 Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm based in San Francisco. Other participants in the round include The Raba Partnership, Byld Ventures, FirstCheck Africa and several angel investors.

Cleva allows users to open USD accounts, with onboarding requiring a Bank Verification Number (BVN) and a government-issued ID. The YC-backed startup, which generates revenue when users swap and exchange their funds (in USD accounts) for the local currency (in naira for now), also charges a 0.9% fee on deposits into customers’ USD accounts.